


Parting

by Oricalle



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: Angst, Blood, Canonical Character Death, Corpses, Drabble, Gen, Golden Deer Route spoilers, Grief/Mourning, Kinda, everyone is sad, happy ending????
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-11
Updated: 2019-09-11
Packaged: 2020-10-14 12:34:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20600864
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oricalle/pseuds/Oricalle
Summary: Claude knows Death better than he could ever wish to.





	Parting

**Author's Note:**

> This story contains major spoilers for the Golden Deer route of Three Houses!

The halls of the palace at Enbarr are finally quiet once more. After hours of battle cries, dying screams, shouts of victory and howls of defeat, it finally seems that there is nothing left to say.

It’s rare to find Claude von Riegan speechless, but for now he resolves to hold his tongue, for this is the hardest part of any battle. After the rush of combat but before the joy of peace, this is the moment with no reprieve. This is when they must begin to deal with the bodies.

Victorious Alliance forces and the remnants of the defeated Imperial ones mingle, for now, trudging through the battlefield to gather what’s left of their comrades. Outside, Lorenz is directing a flow of coffins for bodies that can be claimed and handling transports to a mass grave for those that cannot. As much as Claude likes to tease him, this is one thing about the Gloucester heir he values dearly, his friend’s ability to shoulder such a burden.

Somewhere Marianne and Ignatz are tending to the wounded, Byleth, Lysithea and Leonie are taking inventory of the palace, and poor Raphael is doing the thankless job of moving corpses. Which is why Claude is confused that he’s approaching now, a deep frown on his typically cheerful face.

“Hey, Raphael. Everything alright?”

It’s a silly question, really. It feels like nothing will ever be alright again. But if Claude is to be the leader he wants to be, he has to put on a brave face and a winning smile, especially when no one else can do so.

“No, Claude, there’s…” Raphael’s face scrunches, as if he’s been stabbed in the gut. “There’s a problem in the throne room. I can’t...I can’t get it-”

Claude quirks an eyebrow.

“Can’t get wh-”

Oh.

_Oh._

Claude stands from his chair and walks down the corridors of Enbarr Castle, leaving Raphael to shake his head and try to pull himself back to reality.

There is one voice in Enbarr Castle now, and it is a hauntingly beautiful one. Claude can hear the sobs echoing off the walls long before he reaches the doors to the throne room. Mercifully mostly untouched by the fighting, it still looks pristine and proper, except for the two slumped shapes in the center of the floor.

Edelgard’s corpse is lying on the cold stone ground, her hair knocked loose from its buns and her crown askew. A thin red line down her right side is the only sign of the blow from Byleth that put an end to her reign and her life.

Dorothea is clutching the body, weeping openly, the train of her dress stained with splotches of unidentifiable blood. For someone who often looks so beautiful and composed, the sight of her in such pain is anything but. She nearly howls at Claude as he enters.

“No! Don’t take her away!”

Claude feels his stomach nearly do a flip. Dorothea pulls the body into her arms and drags it close, holding Edelgard’s limp form close to her chest. The sobs only get louder as Claude raises his hands in mock surrender, slowly approaching.

“I won’t. It’s okay. I just want to talk, Dorothea. Please.”

She scoots backwards, dragging the corpse with her through a pool of blood, and Claude feels ill. He’s seen death up close for five years now, and some of his soldiers claim they’ve built up a tolerance. He knows they’re lying, because seeing something like this is enough to shatter any human heart.

When he finally reaches her side, Dorothea makes no effort to stop him, only rocking back and forth as tears gush down her face, dripping onto Edelgard’s forehead. Softly, he speaks.

“We have a saying about the dead in Almyra.”

Dorothea doesn’t make any movement to show she’s heard him, but he continues anyway.

“Death is not the first parting, but it will not be the last.” He tries to mimic his mother’s voice, the way she managed to make every word sound like sage advice. He wishes so often that he could do that.

Dorothea’s eyes are on him now, still raining tears, but focused. Edelgard is resting across her lap now, and if not for the blood Claude could swear she was simply asleep.

“We believe that the soul leaves the body upon death. That it floats up to the sky, far away from all the terrible things we have down here. It leaves behind pain and fear and sorrow and it just...flies, floating until it can’t see the body anymore.” He takes a moment to breathe, making sure Dorothea is still listening. “And it finally finds a place to rest up in the clouds, and when it’s there...it’s finally free.”

Another sob escapes Dorothea’s throat.

“It gets to see everyone who went before, and look down on everyone who will be coming later. And up there, in the clouds, all wounds are healed.” Claude sucks in a breath, banishing thoughts of his fallen comrades for now. There will be time for his own tears later, but right now Dorothea needs a rock.

“Edie’s probably cross with me.” Dorothea whispers. “She’s telling me crying isn’t going to bring her back. Ferdie’s there with her, and he’s telling her to go easy on me.” She gasps as another barrage of tears comes. “And Hubie’s telling him he’s wrong. Like usual.”

Claude chuckles, nodding as he wraps an arm around her shoulder. “That sounds about right to me, Dorothea.”

As he looks up, he notices that Raphael has entered again. The massive man approaches quietly, or as quietly as he can manage, a look of mourning on his face. Claude turns to Dorothea, his face solemn.

“That’s not her. Not anymore.”

Dorothea nods. “I...I know.”

Raphael lifts the corpse into his arms, Dorothea taking one last moment to stroke her hair as she rises into the air. “I’m sorry that I was…”

Raphael shakes his head. “Don’t apologize. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

Claude lends the songstress a shoulder to cry on as they sit, blood of fallen friends caking their clothes.

Many years later, far away, Dorothea wraps her arms around Edelgard once more.

This time Edelgard hugs back.

**Author's Note:**

> The price of writing a fluffy fun AU about Edelgard is that you have to write at least two pieces about her being dead. I don't make the rules! (i do)
> 
> This story has been brought to you by insomnia! Feedback is welcome, as always! If you're here from Luck Of The Draw, I'm Sorry!
> 
> (I didn't mean for the title to be so close to "Come Apart" but I guess if I'm gonna rip anyone off, it should be myself!)


End file.
